UFC 264: Time, Channel and How to Watch Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3

Brian Jones

07/11/2021 03:44 pm EDT

Conor McGregor returns to the octagon tonight. UFC 264 has arrived, and fans will get to see McGregor return to take on Dustin Poirier for the third time. The event will start at 10 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN+. The preliminary card will start at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and ESPN. The early preliminary card will start at 6:15 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass.

The first time McGregor and Poirier met was in September 2014 at UFC 178, where McGregor won the featherweight bout by first-round technical knockout. The second bout happened in January of this year, and this time both fighters have moved up to the lightweight division. Poirier won the match via second-round knockout. Despite the loss at UFC 257, McGregor is confident he can win his first fight since January 2020.

"It's going to be a devastating KO – a masterpiece," McGregor said to Megan Olivi (transcribed by MMA Junkie). "I said that before the last one and a lot of people were thinking of the short game, but I was thinking of the long game. It's the masterpiece coming now. If I would have knocked Dustin out in the second fight, I was supposed to. I knocked him out in 60 seconds the first time. Now it's the biggest thing ever – a masterpiece."

For Poirier, he feels like McGregor he's talking himself up because he knows he's in trouble. "I felt like I saw a guy who was unsure of himself, scared, trying to hype himself up," Poirier said. "I felt good. … I feel like he has to work himself up to be that guy, and I am that guy. I don't have to do that. I know if he would have gotten close enough, he would have seen it – and that's just it. I know who I am. I don't have to be crazy."

One of the other matches to watch on the main card is former Dallas Cowboys star Greg Hardy facing Tai Tuivasa in a heavyweight match. This will be Hardy's first fight since December, when he lost to Marcin Tybura via TKO in the second round. The other matches on the main card are Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson, Irene Aldana vs. Yana Kunitskaya and Sean O'Malley vs. Kris Moutinho.

UFC 264 Card (Via CBS Sports)

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